The invention is in art of containers for holding hand tools. The containers hold water closet cleaning and maintenance tools, such as a scrub brush and a water drain plunger, in upright storage positions.
Household cleaning and maintenance hand tools are used to clean and dust fixtures, such as water closets having sinks, bathtubs and toilet bowels. These tools include brushes, sponges and water drain plungers. The brushes are normally stored in cabinets under sinks or in laundry rooms separated from the water closets. Small open top bowls are also used to accommodate toilet brushes. The bowls and brushes can be located adjacent the toilet bowels for convenience of the cleaning and maintenance persons. The small bowls do not accommodate water drain plungers. Water drain plungers are usually located in storage areas in garages, basements, closets and store rooms remote from locations where they are needed. A person must do considerable searching for a plunger when its use is required. In emergency situations water can over flow and cause costly water damage before the plunger is retrieved from its stored location. An object of the invention is to avoid the disadvantage of searching for a water drain plunger and cleaning brushes by using the holder of the invention to retain both the cleaning brush and water drain plunger.
The holder of the invention accommodates tools used to clean surfaces and fixtures, such as sinks, showers, floors and urinals, and toilet bowels. The tools are brushes, scrubbers and water drain plungers used in households and residential and commercial buildings to clean water closets and like rooms. The holder has an open top housing having a first compartment for storing the plunger and a second compartment for accommodating the brush. The open top of the housing is partly closed with a cover hinged to the housing. The cover has a top wall containing an elongated slot which allows the handles of the brush and plunger to be retained in upright positions.
The preferred embodiment of the holder has a housing having an upright cylindrical side wall joined to an upright generally U-shaped side wall. The side walls are joined to a stepped bottom wall. The cylindrical side wall has a diameter that is larger than the width of the U-shaped side wall. For example, the diameter of the cylindrical side wall may be twice the width of the U-shaped side wall. The side walls surround separate chambers or storage area for the cleaning brush and water drain plunger. The storage chamber for the plunger due to the stepped bottom wall has a depth greater than the depth of the chamber for accommodating the brush. A plurality of inwardly directed vertical ribs on the inside of the U-shaped side wall are used to stabilize and retain the brush in an upright position in its storage chamber. A bottom wall joined to the side walls has an anti-skid pad to keep the holder in place on a hard surface. The open top of the housing is partly closed with a cover hinged to a side wall which allows the cover to be moved upwardly to an open position whereby the brush and plunger can be removed from the holder. The cover has a top wall and a downwardly directed peripheral flange located adjacent the outside of upper portions of the side walls. An elongated slot along the middle of the top wall has an open end with an enlarged mouth. The upright handles of the brush and plunger extend upwardly through the slot. A live hinge or a pivot pin hinge connects one end of the cover to the housing. The housing including the ribs is a one-piece plastic member. The cover is an inverted pan-shaped plastic member hinged to the housing. The holder is a convenient and sanitary product for storing a cleaning brush and water drain plunger.